The Cruise Ship and Cruise Line Discussion Thread!

^ You really didn't go on one of the better RCCL ships - also, something to keep in mind, I personally don't think you really get a true cruising experience on a 3-day cruise. This is why most of the bigger, better ships do at least 7-day cruises, like the Oasis and the Freedom class ships.

You're not going to get the best quality on the shorter cruises. (Unless it's Disney!)

[Hilltopper39Don't make me kick you in the donkey!]

Yeah, the Monarch is probably one of if not the worst boats in the RCCL fleet. I've never been on a 7 day cruise (yet) but the three day was nice for us since we were close to the port and could take a short cruise over a long weekend, which is what we did. Don't get me wrong here I had a great time both trips, and I would definitely sail with RCCL again just not on the Monarch.

Has anyone here ever sailed with Celebrity? Good, bad, neutral?

[SharkTumsSite Admin]

I've been on Celebrity, for me they skew a little older. Not like Princess or HAL old, but older than Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and NCL. Ships, crew, service, quality is all great, but nothing that special.

[TPDaveI know EXACTLY where my passport is!]

My family did Carnival twice (Fantasy both times).

Yes there were obnoxious people on board. Yes the theming throughout the cruise was tacky (this includes the stage props in the shows too).

But I still had a great time. Service was good and despite not being able to hit Bermuda and moving through a hurricane, we still had two ports planned out for us anyway.

I'd probably sail with them again (on a different ship of course) because I had a good time although I'd probably prefer sailing with another line just to see how amazing RCL/Disney/etc can be.

I saw a really interesting talk recently from a maritime historian talking about the cruise market today. In essence he said that Carnival cruise lines (as opposed to Carnival corp. & PLC) exist to provide you with a cruise that's good but not great and make you want to do another cruise but not with Carnival. This with the intention of upselling into the Carnival Corp. & PLC pyramid of lines that offer a better experience (Seabourn, Cunard etc.). Essentially the parent company owns 11 unique brands, one of which is a feeder mechanism to the others.

It's a pretty interesting model, and although I've never heard anyone come out of a carnival cruise with a positive experience, it seems to be working for them :S

[Hilltopper39Don't make me kick you in the donkey!]

That's interesting that you say it was an "older" crowd because all of the marketing and advertisements I've ever seen for celebrity has a fairly young, upscale, and modern feel to it.

[SharkTumsSite Admin]

^That's advertising for you! Have you seen the ads for Vegas, the people are NOT that good looking once you're actually there!

[Hilltopper39Don't make me kick you in the donkey!]

^What? Everyone isn't a supermodel? Thanks a lot, I've never been to Vegas but you basically just ruined it for me

So Vegas is full of unattractive people, the cruise lines are full of old farts, where the hell am I supposed to vacation at now?

[TPDaveI know EXACTLY where my passport is!]

^ TPR trips?

[SharkTumsSite Admin]

^ TPR trips?

[disneyfan1313I love donkeys more than me.]

Thank god for the icanhazcheezeburger maker.